Island



(N0 Modl.)

R. H. PRICE.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

.No.. 460,182. Patented Sept. 29, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RAYMOND II. PRICE, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,182 dated September 29, 1891. Application filed October 28, 1890- gerial No. 369,563. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND II. PRICE, of Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic hire-Extinguishers; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings making a part of the same, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of my improved device. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section showing the adaptation of my improved post to other extinguishers now in use. Fig. 4t is a perspective view of same with post and valve removed. Fig. 5 shows the several parts of my improved post detached.

The object of my invent-ion is to obtain a better and more thorough distribution of the water upon the release of the valve from its seat and to increase the pressure-resisting strength of the post Without retarding its dissolution in case of fire; and it consists in the construction of the device whereby-a downward discharge of water is secured and in the construction, composition, and means of adjusting the post, as hereinafter described.

In the extinguishers now in use the water is usually discharged upward against a deflector of some kind, which distributes it more or. less over the surrounding space. The water thus discharged against the overhanging deflector is at one and the same time forced outward and downward. The best protection in case of fire requires that the ceiling or whatever is above the extinguisher should be drenched with water as well as the floor and articles below; or if the discharge be downward the device is secured to the under side of the water-supply pipe and the valve is placed at the lowest point, so that the sedimentwhich is constantly being deposited from the water passing through the supply-pipe settles around the valve and is apt to prevent the valve from opening even after the support has been loosened; but by using an upright extinguisher-that is, one that projects upward from the supply-pipeand placing the valve at the highest point I secure a d0wnward discharge of water and prevent the sediment from settling around the valve.

In the drawings, A, Figs. 1 and 2, is the inlet for the water, through which itpasses into the base B of the extinguisher. From the base 13 it passes through tubes C C to the upper chamber D, in the bottom of which. is the outlet E, closed by a valve F. The valve F is supported against the pressure of the water bya post G, the several parts of which are held together by solder fusible at a low degree of heat. The upper surface'of the base B is concaved or provided with annular grooves. The combined diameter of the tubes or passages O C are equal to or greater than the diameter of the outlet E. As soon as the valve F is released from its seat the water will be discharged downward upon the concaved or grooved surface of the base B and will be forced upward toward the ceiling and at the same time outward from the center. Such disposition of the water will not only keep the ceiling thoroughly Wet, but will also distribute it over a much greater area than it i could be made to cover were its direction of movement simply outward and downward. The concaved or grooved surface is not absolutely necessary, but contributes somewhat to a better result.

The valve F must be securely held to its seat to prevent any leak, and the post G is thus required to sustain a considerable weight. Solder fusible at a low degree of heat is somewhat uncertain when subjected to a severe strain. The posts now in use are dependent upon the solder for their holding strength. In my invention I have constructed, combined, and secured together the several part-s of the post, so that the solder will simply be needed to hold the parts in position, instead of sustaining the strain of the water-pressure.

I make my improved post in five parts H I J K K, as shown in Fig. 5. The two parts H and I have central rounded contiguous edges and are held in vertical alignment by the parts K K, interlocked at one end with the part II, and all secured together with solder fusible at a low degree of heat, the whole being supported, adjusted, and forced against the valve by means of a tighteningscrew J. In the drawings I have shown one form or means of interlocking these parts together, which consists in providing the part II with two grooves or notches N N, into which the upper ends of the pieces K K project. In

this manner the upper ends of the pieces K K are held in place without the use of sold-er, and as the lateral force of the contacting ends of the parts I and H is exerted between the ends of the pieces K K each of the pieces K becomes a lever having its fulcrum at one end, and consequently it will require but a very small amount of solder to secure the opposite end to the piece I and less heat will be required to melt the small amount of solder used. It will now be readily seen that the solder securing the several parts of the post 18 not called upon to sustain any considerable strain; but its office is to simply hold the parts H and I from slipping away from or out of vertical alignment with each other while they resist the pressure.

While I regard the adjusting-screw J as an important feature of my inventiomi't may be dispensed with by lengthening the part I, and some of the advantages of my poststill re tained, and other means of interlocking the parts together may be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

In Figs. 3 and i I have shown my improvd post adjusted to extinguishers now in use having the upward discharge.

WVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In an automatic fire-extinguisher having a deflector opposite the discharge-orifice, a valve for closing the orifice and a post for keeping the valve in the outlet, said post consisting of the two retaining parts, the contiguous ends of which are rounding, and lateral supports, each having one end interlocked with one of the'retaining parts and the opposite end secured to the other retaining part by means of solder fusible at a low temperature, the intermediate portions of said lateral supports bearing against the retaining parts and preventing lateral displacement of the same, substantially as described.

RAYMOND H. PRICE.

Witnesses:

WALTER B. VINCENT, JOSEPH H. FLAHER'IY. 

